Audrey Assad
Encyclopedia
Audrey Assad is an American singer-songwriter
and contemporary Christian music
artist of Catholic faith. Her debut album, The House You're Building
, was released through Sparrow Records
in July 2010 and went to be named Christian Album of 2010 on Amazon.com
and the Christian Breakthrough Album of the Year on iTunes
. She has worked and toured with other CCM
artists such as Chris Tomlin
, Tenth Avenue North
, Matt Maher
and Jars of Clay
.
, New Jersey
to a Virginia
n mother and a Syria
n father on July 1, 1983, and was raised in a religious Protestant
household. She started to play the piano at 2 and spent her youth moving around New Jersey before settling in Scotch Plains
from ages 7 to 18. She attended public school until middle school, where her experience there caused her to ask her mother to homeschool her, which she did. Assad spent her adolescence being homeschooled, working at her father's businesses and attending church events.
and she spent the next six years there. At 19 she briefly attended college and supported herself with odd jobs while beginning her musical career, writing and composing songs for the first time. Assad spent the next five years playing at various venues performing original songs and covers. Venues ranged from restaurants, weddings and coffee shops to leading and organizing worship concerts at church. Around 2003 Assad recorded a 4-song demo with Drew Middleton, a member of the CCM band Tenth Avenue North
at the time, who Assad toured with occasionally.
to continue and focus on her music career. She raised $7,000 from friends and fans to support her move from Florida. In Nashville she worked with producers Paul Moak
and Phillip LaRue and recorded a 5-song EP
, Firefly with them not long after arriving. Firefly was sold at shows and featured a handwritten cover made of a brown paper bag. Assad supported herself by working as a nanny before meeting fellow Catholic musician Matt Maher
. Maher took Assad under his wing and brought her to various gigs, where she sang back-up vocals and played sets during his shows. This time together around Maher's home base of Phoenix, Arizona, would later prompt Assad to move there from Nashville. During this time Assad signed on to work as a staff writer for EMI Christian Music Group Publishing, doing songwriting work with other artists.
, who would agree to produce what would become The House You're Building
. Altman and Assad recorded the album at the Galt Line Studio in Los Angeles. The House You're Building was released on July 13, 2010 and the title track was featured as a free download on iTunes Discovery Download. The album performed well commercially and critically, going on to become the amazon.com “Best Album of 2010” in the Christian Music category, as well as being the best selling new artist in the Christian Music category of 2010 according to SoundScan
. The album reached #12 on the Billboard Christian Albums chart and #6 on its Heatseekers chart.
Assad is working with Marshall Altman again for a follow-up to her debut album.
growing up through her mother's influence, including The Carpenters
, James Taylor
and Celine Dion
, as well as French and Middle Eastern music from her dad's influence. Later she discovered and began listening to Christian music such as the Newsboys
, Nichole Nordeman
and Cindy Morgan
. When she was 2 she started playing the piano, but it wasn't until she was 19 when she began leading worship that she started writing and performing her own music. Assad played in local Florida venues with a style she described as folky and "average girl with a guitar/piano stuff". The Firefly EP that she recorded with Paul Moak
was also described as folky and rootsy.
Her current style is a mix of religious and non-religious themed songs that draw from her Catholic faith as well as literary references from her love of reading literature and poetry. A majority of her religious songs are written in a way that emphasizes being sung to God rather than about God.
in 2007, attending RCIA
in Florida.
Assad currently lives near Phoenix, Arizona
and is married to William Gene Price III, whom she met in Arizona while on tour with Matt Maher in 2008. Price and Assad married on February 19, 2011 with a ceremony in Phoenix.
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
and contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music is a genre of modern popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith...
artist of Catholic faith. Her debut album, The House You're Building
The House You're Building
The House that You're Building is the debut album by Christian artist Audrey Assad. It has been met with positive reviews by critics. In late 2010, it was re-released for Christmas with two extra tracks.-Track listing:- Critical Reception :...
, was released through Sparrow Records
Sparrow Records
-Background:Sparrow Records was founded in 1976 by Billy Ray Hearn, then A&R director at Myrrh Records. Purchased by EMI in 1992, it is now part of the EMI Christian Music Group, and has been named by Billboard Magazine as "America's Best Christian Music Record Label"...
in July 2010 and went to be named Christian Album of 2010 on Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
and the Christian Breakthrough Album of the Year on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
. She has worked and toured with other CCM
Contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music is a genre of modern popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith...
artists such as Chris Tomlin
Chris Tomlin
Christopher Dwayne "Chris" Tomlin is an American Christian Contemporary Music artist, worship leader, and songwriter from Grand Saline, Texas, United States. He is a former staff member at Austin Stone Community Church and is signed to EMI's sixstepsrecords. Tomlin also leads worship at many...
, Tenth Avenue North
Tenth Avenue North
Tenth Avenue North is an American contemporary Christian music band from West Palm Beach, Florida. They took their name from a major east-west road in Palm Beach County.The group was formed while attending Palm Beach Atlantic University...
, Matt Maher
Matt Maher
Matthew "Matt" Guion Maher is a contemporary Christian music artist, songwriter, and worship leader originally from Newfoundland, Canada, who later relocated to Tempe, Arizona. He has written and produced five solo albums to date...
and Jars of Clay
Jars of Clay
Jars of Clay is a Christian rock band from Nashville, Tennessee. They met at Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois.Jars of Clay consists of Dan Haseltine on vocals, Charlie Lowell on piano and keyboards, Stephen Mason on lead guitars and Matthew Odmark on rhythm guitars...
.
Early life
Audrey Assad was born in SecaucusSecaucus, New Jersey
Secaucus is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 16,264. Located within the New Jersey Meadowlands, it is the most suburban of the county's municipalities, though large parts of the town are dedicated to light manufacturing, retail, and...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
to a Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
n mother and a Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
n father on July 1, 1983, and was raised in a religious Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
household. She started to play the piano at 2 and spent her youth moving around New Jersey before settling in Scotch Plains
Scotch Plains, New Jersey
Scotch Plains is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the township population increased to a record high of 23,510.-History:...
from ages 7 to 18. She attended public school until middle school, where her experience there caused her to ask her mother to homeschool her, which she did. Assad spent her adolescence being homeschooled, working at her father's businesses and attending church events.
Early career in Florida
When Assad was 18 her family moved to FloridaFlorida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and she spent the next six years there. At 19 she briefly attended college and supported herself with odd jobs while beginning her musical career, writing and composing songs for the first time. Assad spent the next five years playing at various venues performing original songs and covers. Venues ranged from restaurants, weddings and coffee shops to leading and organizing worship concerts at church. Around 2003 Assad recorded a 4-song demo with Drew Middleton, a member of the CCM band Tenth Avenue North
Tenth Avenue North
Tenth Avenue North is an American contemporary Christian music band from West Palm Beach, Florida. They took their name from a major east-west road in Palm Beach County.The group was formed while attending Palm Beach Atlantic University...
at the time, who Assad toured with occasionally.
Nashville and the Firefly EP
In 2008 when Assad was 24, she decided to move to Nashville, TennesseeNashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
to continue and focus on her music career. She raised $7,000 from friends and fans to support her move from Florida. In Nashville she worked with producers Paul Moak
Paul Moak
Paul Moak is an American producer, engineer, mixer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist currently residing in Nashville, TN.-Biography:Paul Greer Moak, III was born in Jackson, MS on July 8, 1979...
and Phillip LaRue and recorded a 5-song EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, Firefly with them not long after arriving. Firefly was sold at shows and featured a handwritten cover made of a brown paper bag. Assad supported herself by working as a nanny before meeting fellow Catholic musician Matt Maher
Matt Maher
Matthew "Matt" Guion Maher is a contemporary Christian music artist, songwriter, and worship leader originally from Newfoundland, Canada, who later relocated to Tempe, Arizona. He has written and produced five solo albums to date...
. Maher took Assad under his wing and brought her to various gigs, where she sang back-up vocals and played sets during his shows. This time together around Maher's home base of Phoenix, Arizona, would later prompt Assad to move there from Nashville. During this time Assad signed on to work as a staff writer for EMI Christian Music Group Publishing, doing songwriting work with other artists.
Sparrow Records and The House You're Building
In 2009 Assad signed with Sparrow Records, who had been talking to Assad after the release of her EP. For her first album, Assad then met and played for producer Marshall AltmanMarshall Altman
Marshall Noah Altman is a Nashville-based record producer and songwriter who owns the Galt Line studio in Nashville, Tennessee. He was formerly an A&R person for such labels as Capitol Records, Hollywood Records and Columbia Records, as well as the former frontman for the alternative band Farmer...
, who would agree to produce what would become The House You're Building
The House You're Building
The House that You're Building is the debut album by Christian artist Audrey Assad. It has been met with positive reviews by critics. In late 2010, it was re-released for Christmas with two extra tracks.-Track listing:- Critical Reception :...
. Altman and Assad recorded the album at the Galt Line Studio in Los Angeles. The House You're Building was released on July 13, 2010 and the title track was featured as a free download on iTunes Discovery Download. The album performed well commercially and critically, going on to become the amazon.com “Best Album of 2010” in the Christian Music category, as well as being the best selling new artist in the Christian Music category of 2010 according to SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan is an information and sales tracking system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett. Soundscan is the official method of tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada...
. The album reached #12 on the Billboard Christian Albums chart and #6 on its Heatseekers chart.
Assad is working with Marshall Altman again for a follow-up to her debut album.
Musical style and themes
Assad grew up in a religious household but listened to secular musicSecular music
Secular music is non-religious music. "Secular" means being separate from religion.In the West, secular music developed in the Medieval period and was used in the Renaissance. Swaying authority from the Church that focused more on Common Law influenced all aspects of Medieval life, including music...
growing up through her mother's influence, including The Carpenters
The Carpenters
Carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo, consisting of sister Karen and brother Richard Carpenter. The Carpenters were the #1 selling American music act of the 1970s. Though often referred to by the public as "The Carpenters", the duo's official name on authorized recordings and...
, James Taylor
James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
and Celine Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
, as well as French and Middle Eastern music from her dad's influence. Later she discovered and began listening to Christian music such as the Newsboys
Newsboys
Newsboys are a Christian pop rock band founded in 1985 in Mooloolaba, Australia. They have released 15 studio albums, six of which have been certified gold...
, Nichole Nordeman
Nichole Nordeman
Nichole Ellyse Nordeman is an eight-time Dove Award-winning contemporary Christian American singer–songwriter.-Biography:Nordeman was raised in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where she played the piano in church...
and Cindy Morgan
Cindy Morgan (singer)
Cindy Morgan is a Christian singer and songwriter.Morgan released her debut album, Real Life, in 1992 earning six Dove Award nominations. Her follow-up, Reason To Live, garnered her another Dove Award nomination.In 2001, Morgan decided to take a break from her career and dedicate time to her family...
. When she was 2 she started playing the piano, but it wasn't until she was 19 when she began leading worship that she started writing and performing her own music. Assad played in local Florida venues with a style she described as folky and "average girl with a guitar/piano stuff". The Firefly EP that she recorded with Paul Moak
Paul Moak
Paul Moak is an American producer, engineer, mixer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist currently residing in Nashville, TN.-Biography:Paul Greer Moak, III was born in Jackson, MS on July 8, 1979...
was also described as folky and rootsy.
Her current style is a mix of religious and non-religious themed songs that draw from her Catholic faith as well as literary references from her love of reading literature and poetry. A majority of her religious songs are written in a way that emphasizes being sung to God rather than about God.
Personal life
Growing up Assad was raised in a Protestant religious household and would later reconfirm her faith at the age of 19. She spent the next few years as Protestant before converting to CatholicismCatholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
in 2007, attending RCIA
Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults
The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults is the process through which interested adults and older children are gradually introduced to the Roman Catholic faith and way of life...
in Florida.
Assad currently lives near Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
and is married to William Gene Price III, whom she met in Arizona while on tour with Matt Maher in 2008. Price and Assad married on February 19, 2011 with a ceremony in Phoenix.
Discography
- Firefly EP (2008)
- The House You're BuildingThe House You're BuildingThe House that You're Building is the debut album by Christian artist Audrey Assad. It has been met with positive reviews by critics. In late 2010, it was re-released for Christmas with two extra tracks.-Track listing:- Critical Reception :...
(Sparrow RecordsSparrow Records-Background:Sparrow Records was founded in 1976 by Billy Ray Hearn, then A&R director at Myrrh Records. Purchased by EMI in 1992, it is now part of the EMI Christian Music Group, and has been named by Billboard Magazine as "America's Best Christian Music Record Label"...
, 2010)